In various apparatus which require power transmission elements, it is sometimes desirable to provide controlled delay between the actuation of the driving member and the coupling of the driving member to the driven member. One example is in the power transmission element of an automatic clothes washer where it is desirable to provide drain-down prior to a spin cycle.
In order to provide the delayed actuation feature for drain-down, some washers have incorporated a solenoid actuated disconnect between the motor and the washing apparatus with the motor adapted to drive a directly coupled pump. This method requires additional control equipment and maintenance.
Therefore, in order to avoid waste of equipment and manpower, it was believed that a centrifugal force controlled delayed-action transmission element could be utilized for coupling the driving member to the driven member of a washing machine to provide the desirable drain-down feature. Delayed action transmissions that will provide this desired action were known; for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,017,005--Muhlbeyer. However, the construction of these heretofore utilized delayed-action transmissions were complex, required a large number of moving parts, and were not of the construction which was adapted for utilization in a relatively small household apparatus such as an automatic washing machine.